Otter

About the game

What is Otter?

In Otter, players race to play all their cards first by putting adorable critters on otter tummies. But Otter is a racing game that teaches patience, and a shedding game where drawing cards gives benefits, and a cute game that will make you think. 🦦Gameplay: There are three otters to play on. Each otter has a rule about numbers on its head and a rule about suits on its tail. You must follow at least one rule to play on the otter, but if you follow both, you may play on that otter again until you only follow one rule. This can lead to some epic turns! 🦦The twist: You can draw cards to flip or swap heads or tails before you play to change that otter's rules. Drawing helps you play bigger combos, but also might give you cards you can't play this turn. 🦦The final touch: Players keep cards they didn't play between rounds, and then draw until they have 10 cards. So if you have a big combo (many cards in the same suit), you are incentivized to hold on to those cards as long as possible unless you think you can play your entire hand during the current round. If you play your combos too early and someone else goes out first, you lose your headstart for the next round. It's fun to play fast, but the strategy lies in knowing when to play fast, when to hold back, and when to pivot! Every turn is a little puzzle! -description by publisher

How it plays

Mechanics

On the shelf

Categories

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

• How do setup and the first turn work in Otter?
• When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
• How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?